WINSTON-SALEM - Winston-Salem is one of five cities in North Carolina participating in a national program that gives high school dropouts a second chance.

YouthBuild is a program that helps troubled youth reclaim their lives and rebuild their communities through education, job training and leadership development.

On Tuesday, several high school dropouts from schools across Forsyth County attended an information session about the program.  

"YouthBuild is a nationally recognized program through the Department of Labor,” said Winston-Salem’s YouthBuild Director Sharon Johnson.” [It] focuses on a younger group of folks from the ages of 16 to 24 helping them get their G.E.D. and/or high school diploma."

Brittney Ingram is one of the people who attended the information session Tuesday. Ingram said she dropped out of Reynolds High School in 2011 after becoming pregnant. Now that her son is 4 years old, she's ready to get her education back on track.

"I have to set an example for my son to make sure he stays in school because school is very important,” said Ingram.

Students selected for the program will spend 30 hours a week getting paid to earn their GED and be trained for a job. In previous years students have worked in construction, but this year's program will offer four new areas of work.

"We are going to be offering facility maintenance, Certified Nursing Assistant, pharmacy tech and also advanced manufacturing,” said Johnson.  

For those who've participated in the program in the past, they said the program was a life-changing opportunity.

"Coming in I honestly didn't believe that I could get my GED,” said YouthBuild graduate Jarett Terry. “For me to be standing here as a full-time employee of the city with my GED and in college, I can't even find the words for it to be honest."

Harold Jackson, another YouthBuild graduate, said for him it was a new beginning.

“It took me off of the bad path that I was on and actually gave me something to do besides hang out in the streets all day," said Jackson.  

Both of them encourage others to take that first step in a better direction.

"This is an opportunity that can really work for you,” said Terry.

Applications will be accepted through November, and the nine-month program starts in January. For more information on the program, visit here.